art supplies with this $300 visa gift card. [cheers and applause] right now a messy snow day. beware of slick, icy roads that are snarling traffic. >> i put the car in park and sat there for two hours. >> be very careful and drive

slow. >> i drive slow. >> the story shifts to tonight's bitter temperature drop and refreeze meaning a black ice danger overnight tonight and for the next couple days. >> deep freeze, any water that's on the road untreated will refreeze. if you are about to hit the road, take care out there. good afternoon, i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm barbara harrison in for jim hanley. right now there's several inches on the ground in some places. school and federal government closed. salt and sand crews out on the roads, there all day. no break for power crews struggling to restore electricity after sunday's ice storm. suddenly thousands more customers needing help. >> the next issue could be black ice. our storm team predicts overnight temperatures will be below freezing and temperatures will stay low for the next two

to three days. we have team coverage of our weather today and the new weather headline, bitter cold moving in. we begin with storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson. >> bitter cold for sure. we're not just talking subfreezing temperatures, but subfreezing temperatures. we're going way down tonight. take a look across the area right now, getting a little bit of melting throughout the area. we did get sunshine. this system blew in here and out of here very quickly. these are the area where snow did fall. you can see pretty much along just east and back to the west of i-95. big winners to the north and wes west. snow melting has taken place today. i don't think we'll see a lot over the next two days with the cold. at least there's nothing falling right now. quiet on the radar. temperatures currently at 34 degrees, culpepper coming in at 37 degrees right now. with the sunshine helping us out

a little bit on area roads, it's the secondary roads that we have to worry about as temperatures drop, look at this, from 13 degrees in frederick to 22 degrees in d.c. folks, that means, again, some serious issues on area roads. icy patches with the refreeze. just when we get a chance to warm up and see more melting takes place, we'll tell you in a couple minutes coming up in my full weather. plows were out in force this morning in montgomery county before, during and after the snow hit. this was the scene in gaithersburg. >> a few folks ventured out, but there was enough accumulation in that whole county to close schools and make getting around a bit of a challenge. our team coverage continues with news 4's christ gordon on route 355 in germantown, maryland, with a look at how things are going now. >> i'm wearing sunglasses because we're standing in the sunshine under blue skies. it shouldn't surprise you. this is exactly what storm team 4 predicted, how the day would

end after beginning with all kinds of snow and great threatening skies. damascus, clarksburg and points further north as we today took a road trip. >> reporter: we drove north on 270 in search of the deepest snowfall in our area. in frederick county we found an abandoned car that slid off the road near christopher's crossing which county officials here tell us got six inches. that's enough snow to weigh down branches bending and breaking them. >> we get pretty fierce winds coming off the mountains, and i think probably the trunk was compromised. the snow was so heavy it just brought half of it down. maybe we won't lose the whole thing, i'm hoping. >> reporter: parking lots at churches and businesses had to be dug out. snowblowers were used on sidewalks. snowplows are finally getting to

the problem areas, residential roads that are among the last to be cleared. the people who own snow removal businesses are grateful for the early snow. >> of course this year so far we've had more snow than what we did all last year. >> you've got to be a happy guy being a snow plower. >> it makes it nice. >> this montgomery county resident really took the snow seriously. >> we haven't gotten snow in a really long time. i brought all the stuff out the attic. i bundled up. i don't like being cold. >> looks like you didn't leave anything in the attic or closet? >> for sure. i got everything out. >> reporter: if you think that you had a lot of shoveling to do today, coming up we'll introduce you to a man who has a 600-foot-long driveway and he cleared it all by himself. as we say so long, we'll put the sunglasses back on. a beautiful sunset here in germantown as we end this crazy day. back to you. >> chris, thanks a lot.

the wintery weather is causing flight delays and cancellations at major airports north of the washington area. flights headed for philadelphia, new york and boston are being delayed for an hour or more because of snow and icy conditions on the ground there. but airports in this area are not reporting any delays right now. air traffic is moving well at reagan national, dulles and bwi. thousands of people in our area are without power because of the storm. dominion tops the list with about 6,500 out tanls. this is one of their crews working earlier today in arlington. novec is working to get the lights on for about 2500 customers in northern, virginia. pepco says 23 customers are without power. about 186 bge customers are without power. and potted tomac edison says ju about 11 without power. julie kerry is live in

vienna, hey, julie? >> reporter: i'm ending the day where i started the day alongside maple avenue in vienna. take a look at this roadway right now. it is just wet. that is a big improvement from the slushy mess we saw this morning. good thing was, a lot of people seemed to heed the warnings this morning. at the peak of the snowfall, they stayed home, kept their cars in the garage. for the kids who stayed home from school, this was a snow to celebrate. in sled-worthy snow we've seen in some time. >> one, two, three. whoo! >> reporter: we didn't have to go very far into the neighborhoods in vienna to see families either sledding or building snou men. this vienna family only had to step out their front door to their sleep driveway and they had their own to be bog gan run. these three kids were loving it.

for the youngest who is just three, it was not only his first time sledding, this was his very first snow. >> my wife decided that being inside was a little too much. i decided to bring them outside to have a little fun. >> you guys got kicked out? >> yes, pretty much. >> it's been a while since we've had snow that you can sled in? >> my youngest had no idea what snow was. he was pretty excited to see it and experience it for the first time. >> reporter: as fun as this snow is for some, those that are still without power, it's been another tough day. coming up on "news 4 at 5:00," we'll take you to southwestern fairfax county and show you the difficulty some folks are facing there. not only is there no power, so they're on well. when there's no power, there's no water. for now reporting live from vienna, julie kerry, news 4. keep in mind you can get weather alerts sent right to your smart phone, check out live radar and track storms with our

storm team 4 weather app. download it in the app store or on google play. just search nbc washington weather. at 3 sdsh 10 will washington's football coach be fired. deanna at the live desk with that. >> questions surrounded if mike shanahan will remain as head coach of the redskins through this season and even next year. our sources have told us that the coach is not being fired today and will be at practice tomorrow when the team begins work for sunday's game against atlanta. we have a couple of strong sources within the organization who have told news 4 sports that there's reason to believe that kyle shanahan is what is driving mike shanahan to want out as head coach of the redskins. kyle's role in the organization as offensive coordinator may be putting the head coach in a position where he has to choose between his son and his job. we also just confirmed with the

redskins that dan snyder will not be involved in any player decisions and will allow coach mike shanahan to make the call as to whether robert griffin iii or kurt cousins starts this sunday at quarterback against the atlanta falcons. caught on camera, a 40-car pileup in wisconsin. cars crashing one after the other on a snow-covered highway. plus in prince george's county how a slushy wet mix right now could spell serious trouble for the evening right home. we have a live report from largo straight ahead. plus this -- >> this is the official pat collins snow stick, and you can have one of your very own. it's the snowman challenge. details coming up. news 4. boy, oh, boy, what melted today will refreeze tonight. we're cold, folks, for the next two days. along with that, storm team 4

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our coverage of this latest blast of winter continues this afternoon. like much of the area, in prince george's county the concern now turns to the cold temperatures rolling in tonight. >> crews are preparing for the cold and possible ice from all the slush left behind. our team coverage continues now in largo where bureau chief tracee wilkins has been keeping an eye on the roads all day

long. tracee? >> we were on location from the same location this morning when this looked like a winter wonderland of sorts. now take a look. we have nothing but wet roads. if you look at the drain you 50e8 see a little steady stream of water. let me take it back to what it looked like this morning, where we have video of what we were seeing on the roadways as we drove around prince george's county. this is how it was looking at the peak of the snowfall. no, we were not driving this fast. this is sped-up video. as you can tell, we had some snow covered roads on the beltway and the off-ramps. now, here is the same area, mostly just wet, not much to speak of right now. the real concern is what is going to happen tonight when the temperatures drop. officials in the county are preparing for the possibility of black ice. >> this is one of the things where we want to be cautious, make sure we're treating it and

if you have to be on the roadway, please drive with caution. >> reporter: they're preparing for the possibility of black ice. here is what they're doing, decreasing crews by half. instead of 200 pieces of equipment on the road, about 150. they're coming on right now and will be working until the early morning hours to hopefully make sure the roads are safe. coming up on "news 4 at 5:00," we have been dodging lots of snow bullets in prince george's county. what that's been meaning for the county's budget when it comes to snow removal. tracee wilkins, news 4. a winter hazard lurking for your four-legged friends. liz crenshaw joins us live with an important report. is sidewalk salt toxic for dogs? >> and the pat collins snowman challenge. make a snowman, no matter how big or small, and tweet us your picture. pat collins joins us live next with how the challenge is shaping

sure, folks had to deal with slushy sidewalks and roads today and had to maneuver around salt and snowplows and had to put their pipers up so they don't stick to the windshield. you probably do that, too. while a lot of people see trouble when they see snow,

others see joy. >> my kids are all psyched. so we'll be sledding this afternoon. >> i could do this all day. i love it. >> every day? >> well, not every day. >> as san turner said he's a native new yorker, so this is his kind of weather. >> most children in our region got to enjoy a day off of school, and the snow that fell today was perfect snow for building a snowman. news 4's pat collins is live with a challenge for all of . >> reporter: this is the official pat collins snow stick. not only can you use it to measure snow, but it also has markings that record all the historic snowstorms we've had in our city over the years. it's a true collector's item and you can have one of your very own. all you have to do is enter the snowman challenge. what you do is make a snowman, take a picture of it. tweet it to @patsnowstick.

the best snowman gets the stick. i get a little teary eyed when i think about the first time i gave one of these away. >> you promise to use this snow stick responsibly? >> i will. >> and measure snow accurately for years and years to come? >> yes. >> meet now samantha house, she's from arlington. our very first snow stick recipient. she made a snowman that looked -- well, it looked like me. though i greatly admired my work, i had nothing to do with the judging, but what an exciting time it was when i got a chance to present samantha with her very own official pat collins snow stick. >> this is your very own pat collins snow stick. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: now let's take a look at some of the entries we've received so far today. we call this category baby's

first snowman. this snowman is getting a hug. here is a snow woman and a snow bunny at her side. how cute is that? they call this a mini pat collins, complete with a microphone and snow stick. and what about this one? i think they used every flake in the yard to make this fellow. good job everybody. you have until 7:00 to send in the picture of your snowman. coming up at 5:00, i'm show you more entries so you know what you're up against. remember, it's the official pat collins snow stick. send in your picture to @patsnowstick. some will be on the air. live in northwest, pat collins u news 4. >> i haven't had a chance to make mine yet. >> i didn't either.

>> so how much did we get? >> we had between three and six inches of snowfall west of i-95. that's where the good snow making was today. that's where the big cleanup was hopefully on today. late this evening, early part of tonight they'll drop below freezing and stay below freezing, not just through tomorrow morning, but through all the day tomorrow and early thursday. so got to get out there and at least clean those -- your sidewalk and your driveway and all those areas that you don't want to slip on. let's take a look at the temperatures throughout the area and what we're forecasting. 22 degrees right there in the d.c. metro area. this is for your wednesday and thursday. on average where temperatures will be, very, very low. the suburbs again, even colder for the overnight period. 13 degrees in frederick, maryland, 15 in martinsburg by tomorrow morning. manassas drops to 13.

even cold for la plata. we drop below freezing, but just so much lower than below freezing. again, into the teens and a very hard freeze we're going to have. but no snow is falling right now. storm team 4 radar is pretty quiet. we're already looking to that next storm system as one exiting off the coast. even new york right now clearing out. temperature sits at 40 degrees, cold. 29 degrees by 9:00 p.m. 11:00 this evening we're 27 degrees. so again, subfreezing already there and a little bit of wind which i expect the wind to start easing up and dieing down once the sunsets. wind gusts of 20 miles per hour in leesburg, up to 30 and just above in hagerstown, maryland. some of the high spots west. it's the refreeze tonight that's the big story. cold conditions for tomorrow. we pick up a little sunshine. it's a partly sunny day for tomorrow. we repeat it all over again for thursday. cold and sunshine coming our way for the afternoon. friday, at least friday's temperatures will be a little

higher before the next storm system. tomorrow afternoon, cold with just little melting taking place. we're partly sunny, 30 to 34 degrees with a west wind at about 10 to 20 miles per hour. let's look at our storm team four-day forecast here. look at that, folks, around freezing the next two days with windy conditions coming in on thursday. close to 40 degrees on friday. right now the first part of the weekend we've got a 50% chance of not just rain but also snow coming our way for saturday. that system is expected to, again, possibly bring accumulating snow. later in the newscast we'll show you how that system comes into the area and where we think the rain-snow line will set up. >> thank you. other stories making headlines tonight, several people sickened with carbon monoxide poisoning in northwest washington. presidents and prime minister, celebrities and royals join thousands of

today's snow is impacting some local' vechbts honoring nelson mandela. tonight's tribute to the former south african president at howard university has been postponed until after the holidays. the vigil at the south african embassy on massachusetts avenue

is still scheduled until 7:00 tonight. the national cathedral is still planning to hold the memorial service tomorrow morning at 11:00. right now president obama is en route to washington after attending nelson mandela's memorial service in johannesburg. ♪ >> tens of thousands of south africans of all backgrounds danced and sang and cried under a cold rain. they came to honor the man who changed the course of their country's history. an historic moment today as president obama, america's first black president, paid tribute to south africa's first black president there, calling him the last great liberator of the 20th century. >> it's tempting i think to remember nelson mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, but madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. i am not a saint, he said, unless you think i'm a saint as

a sinner who keeps on trying. >> one other moment of note, president obama unexpectedly shaking hands with cuban president raul castro, america's cold war rival. castro smiled during the handshake and said a few words. the relationship between the u.s. and cuba has thawed recently. stay with news 4 for the very latest developments as the world prepares to say good-bye to nelson mandela. news 4's jim vance is traveling to south africa to cover the funeral. his reports begin on thursday. today's weather story isn't just in our area. check this out. amazing video into our newsroom showing a 40-car pileup caught

good afternoon everyone. i'm bears. >> i'm pat lawson muse. d.c. public schools and all major school systems in maryland, virginia and west virginia were closed. that means no after school activities. the federal government closed except for emergency and telework ready employees. the national zoo lights show a lighted animal silhouettes has been canceled. >> it's sunny around the area right now. will we have to deal with isolate tore day v. j.? >> yes. temperatures drop down to freezing and below freezing for a long period of time. wait till you see what is high is for tomorrow. we take a look at this gorgeous sun setting over the snow

covered ground from today. our temperatures again out there right now, in the 30s. close to freezing in gaithersburg, maryland, 34, 36. camp springs currently coming in at 37 degrees. later tonight we'll drop to 11 degrees in some of the coldest of spots to 22 degrees in the metro area. that means we're going to refreeze, it's going to be a hard freeze, a lot of icy patches, bridges and overpasses. a lot of the secondary roads in orange, 21 in ft. belvoir to fredricksburg tomorrow morning, on top of that, bundle up. in western portions of maryland, 13 hagerstown, 15 degrees in martinsburg, cumberland down to 14 degrees by tomorrow morning. yes, we're going to have some sunshine back tomorrow, but it's going to stay cold throughout the date. right now i'm forecasting a high temperature of just 33 degrees. and with sunshine across the area, still, folks, that means

little melting with 27 to about 28 degrees by noontime. so we'll hit just over the freezing mark, and then it's back down again. a very cold night coming our way for thursday. we'll take a look at thursday, what we'll have to deal with in the next storm system for the weekend in a few minutes. one of the hardest hit areas has been loudoun county. news 4's mark seagraves took to the roads in the 4 x 4. >> reporter: the sun came out today which made digging out a lot easier than yesterday. >> yesterday was really heavy and wet and icy. so it was really hard to shovel. each load was very, very heavy. today it's more powdery, packable and fun to play in. >> reporter: snowplows and sand trucks hit the roads early and hard today in north even virginia. by midday most of the main roads as well as the secondary roads were clear. but earlier this morning it was

a different story with power outages, road closures and, of course, the ever-anticipated school closings. >> no school and i'm a teacher. we had two days off. it's been wonderful. >> reporter: the snow gave some people a good excuse to enjoy hot cider. it also made for some incredible views. while these crews behind me are ready to take a break, their work is far from finished. they'll be back out later tonight treating the roads, the ramps and stop signs getting ready for tomorrow's rush hour. in loudoun county, mark seagraves, news 4. a nasty crash caught on a traffic camera. the video shows drivers going way too fast for the slippery conditions. many lost control and one by one that start clamming into one another. it happened sunday. some vehicles slid off the road.

as you can see in the course of just a few seconds, dozens of cars, trucks and suvs got caught up in it. sadly one person was killed. the highway was closed for nine hours. according to the calendar winter is store more than a week away. tell that to the people sliding their way through this storm and others around the country. here is nbc's jay gray. >> reporter: another blast of winter weather made for some tough sledding from nashville through the east coast today. kids may have enjoyed the wild ride, but for drivers the conditions were treacherous. plows pushed away what they could. but jackknifed trucks and stranded cars still littered roads and highways across the region while others were just spinning their wheels as they tried to navigate through the snow and ice. getting there in the air has been just as difficult. lines stretched from ticket

counters and then terminals. hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled. many passengers understand it could be a long wait. >> i'm looking outside, looking at the weather map thinking we're going to be at the airport for a while. >> reporter: for some the best way to deal with the problems is perspective. >> as long as i'm not in the air and something goes wrong, i'm fine. i'm fine. i'd rather find out now. >> reporter: the only sure way to get from point a to b has been one step at a time. that's how postal carriers made sure the mail was delivered and how kids found a way to spend the day off from school. >> and i can make snow angels with my mom and my sister. >> reporter: a little bit of heaven on a day that's been -- well, pretty tough on the adults. jay gray, nbc news. >> keep in mind you can get weather alerts sent right to your smart phone with our storm team 4 weather app. download it in the app store or google play. just search nbc washington weather.

even small snowstorms can cost big bucks. expense reports from last winter, despite just a few inches of snow, d.c., maryland and virginia spent millions of dollars. our scott mcfarland found montgomery county went overbudget. they spent more than a million dollars for every inch of snow. what's behind the big price tags? the news 4 i team investigation on "news 4 at 6:00." three people taken to the hospital after a carbon monoxide leak. rescue crews were called to new hampshire avenue around 11:00 this morning. there they found five people suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. two were checked out at the scene. three others were taken to the hospital. they are all expected to survive. hazmat teams believe a faulty water heater is to blame. two people were killed this morning when their suv was hit by a marc commuter train. this happened in baltimore as the train was heading to d.c.'s

union station. police believe the driver of the suv may have gone around a gate at a railroad crossing. police haven't released the names of the victims. no one on the train was injured. a new threat from the wintery weather socking the country, falling ice. sheets of ice posing a massive danger in texas right now. plus this. >> i'm liz crenshaw, protecting your pets. deicing your sidewalk puts them at risk. my story is coming up. from tracking snow to tracking cold, a very cold night with icy conditions likely by tomorrow morning and, yes, we are looking toward the weekend and what could be another storm. we'll have

busted with pot at the pentagon. an army civilian was caught during a screening while going into the building to get to his office. the worker was found with more than 25 grams of marijuana during an enhanced security screening last month according to a report in the pentagon foreign policy online magazine. the street value is about $400. officials at the pentagon refused to provide information about individual charges or any charges that might be brought. the enhanced security screening also turned up four knives, pepper spray and drug paraphernalia. >> the founder of lululemon is

stepping down. chip wilson agreed to give up the seat after being criticized for comments he made about his customers. in a recent tv interview wilson said lululemon yoga pants just don't work for some women's bodies, unquote. he's promising to resign before the company's annual meeting in june. meanwhile, on wall street, shares of the retailer fell 42 cents to $69.99 a share. as the snow melts, it will freeze tonight and become a slippery slope on sidewalks, steps and driveways. >> liz crenshaw is here with the best way to protect your pets from the toxic chemicals and the cold as well. >> treating the ice is much different than treating the snow. the maryland cooperative extension service suggests using three types of deicing salt, either magnesium chloride, calcium chloride or potassium chloride. those will all help you melt. all those can damage concrete

and mortar between bricks and also damage your plants. so the extension service recommends using only a thin coat. if it is thick ice, add a small amount of water to that salt to help spread it. just don't pour it on. if you want to get traction without the damage to the concrete or plants, the extension service says use sand or fireplace ashes or kitty litter to simply improve your traction. it won't melt the ice but you won't have the damage either. winter mether and chemicals used to melt ice can be dangerous to your pets. we spoke with northwest animal hospital for ways to keep your animals safe. first and foremost, keep your pets away from antifreeze. some people pour antifreeze on sidewalks as a deicer. that's a really bad idea. it's bad for pets because the sweet taste for dogs and cats, they're attracted to it. if your pet swallows even the tiniest amount of that, it can cause irreversible damage that could lead to death. veterinarians say you can avoid

any toxicity best by cleaning your pet's paws after a walk so they won't lick off the chemicals when you get home. if your dog will tolerate booties, you can buy disposable and waterproof dog boots. when it comes to cats, friendship animal hospital says keep them inside. cats left outside often seek warmth by crawling onto the engine blocks of cars. not the place for your cat when you go to start the car. come upping at 5:00, snow shoveling laws, how long do you have to clear the snow from your sidewalk? preventing your pipes from freezing, we'll tell you how to do that at 5:00 tonight. >> thank you, liz. from the air to the roads, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to keep drivers safe in a snowstorm. how do snowplow drivers practice? chief meteorologist doug kammerer joins was the state-of-the-art snow simulator. it looks just like a video game. veronica will be back to

tell us how long the cold snap will last and whether there's another winter storm on the way. the updated forecast for the

we're being warned that we're going to be skidding later tonight, but not before the rush hour hopefully. >> temperatures i think will remain above freezing until after the evening rush, but then after that, folks, for many, many hours our temperatures will

be below freezing. that means that as we navigate around area roads tomorrow, the secondary roads and we take turns, we could potentially find ourselves in a skid. so what do you do? >> the secret is adjusting your speed well before you take the corner. sometimes you dial the steering back just a little bit back towards straight, regain the grip and then you can be on your way. >> of course, that means staying alert, driving cautiously. if your rear wheels go left, you should turn your steering wheel to the left. above all, folks, on icy mornings, the potential for ice, don't drive over the speed limit. keep it down. on storm team radar, it is quiet across the area. and for the remainder of the workweek, we're not going to see any storms. good news, right? the bad news is where our temperatures will be. this is tomorrow morning you're looking at. you folks in la plata, 19 degrees. there haven't been about one,

maybe two mornings when our temperatures have been this low down in la plata. 13 manassas, 14 in leesburg. gaithersburg 16 to start and then the high temperature for tomorrow for a brief period of time hitting around 32 to 33 degrees. not much melting going to take place tomorrow. for annapolis, 31 degrees. gaithersburg only, germantown 32. sterling 32 degrees for a high temperature. areas down to the south and west, that pocket in virginia, charlottesville, stanton could get up to 36, 37, just a little warmer with a southwesterly wind. then it's going to get breezy and cold as i get into thursday morning. that means single digit windchill temperatures. we have another storm system that we're already monitoring. storm team 4, the system pulls into our area for the weekend. right now saturday we could be starting out with light snow, switching over to maybe some freezing rain or sleet and then over to all rain. the good news with this system

in terms of its impact on area roads is that i think it will be a warmer system for us. the other thing, this next system comes during the weekend, and the weekend again will be a little higher than our temperatures for the remainder of the workweek. as far as thursday, it looks like one of the coldest mornings in a long time when you factor in the wind. windy conditions, and look at the windchill temperatures. forecasting 4 degrees in wind chester, what it will feel like. 4 degrees in gaithersburg, manassas, 4 degrees the windchill reading. do you know where everything is, scarfs, mittens, hats to keep warm. again, right now for saturday, looks like a 50% chance, could go even higher that probability over the next couple days, getting a wintery mix in here as we start with snow, switch over to freezing rain and eventually all rain. some travel delays in the forecast. a little warmup and dry conditions for sunday.

back to you. the snow may be over, but that doesn't mean plow drivers can go home. the focus is now on the frigid temperatures we're expecting tonight and the possible refreezing of all that slush left behind. road crews in maryland have been out since early this morning, and they will continue to be out all night tonight. one plow driver we talked to said there's no such thing as an eight-hour day in his business. >> ten hours, maybe longer and until stops snowing. >> maryland has the staffing to be able to dispatch about 2,700 people to help us deal with the impact of winter storms. people who operate snowplows gear up well before the storms move in. chief meteorologist doug kammerer shows us how a state-of-the-art snow simulator helps them prepare for days like today. >> it's extra dark over here. >> reporter: when the flakes start flying, they are our last line of defense. their job? to battle the elements and clear the roadways keeping us safe.

they are the plow truck drivers, the men and women that get the call as soon as ice and snow are in the forecast. but before they get into these, they must first step into this. a state-of-the-art simulator. >> make sure you get the turning lane and work your way towards the right. it really gives the driver a realistic sense of driving in a snowstorm without any risk. >> reporter: d.c. plow drivers use this video game-like simulator to make sure they're ready for anything mother they newer may bring. it's anything but a game. >> first thing you're going to do is put your seatbelt on. >> reporter: safety is a priority here. >> this simulator operating system is monitoring everything you do. >> reporter: the district has been using this simulator for about three years now, giving drivers a chance to train before any snow hits the ground. >> we want the drivers to get a snowplowing experience. >> good turn. very good. >> reporter: for the drivers, it's a learning experience where

they see immediate results. >> then at the end of this scenario we get a printout sheet that actually gives them an indication whether they have to improve in certain areas or not. >> reporter: our area see it is share of snowstorms from the smaller two to three-inch storms to the snow ma geddons. bill how lfrnltsand is the director. >> we're looking at what is the worst possible scenario and deploy based on that. >> reporter: allen says whether it's the major snowstorm or just light snow, it's important folks don't -- >> to give our workers an opportunity to do their job. >> reporter: that's something i learned firsthand when i got behind the wheel of this simulator. whoops. okay. i hit the curb and i'm going through the red light. where is the brake? >> it's not as easy as it looks and this is a serious training tool for d.c.'s plow drivers.

>> one of the daily challenges is going to be the parktd cars. one thing they ask you to do as a driver is to get as close to the curb as possible. that extra four to five inches that puts you closer to the curb gives them extra space to plow your road. trust me, when you're driving something this big, that extra space goes a long way. >> it sure did. they did not need to put those plows down across the area today at least in the district. we talked about this in my winter weather forecast, i do think we will see more significant snowstorms. we'll talk more about those as we get closer to 5:00. a little on the tough side for sure. i did hit the one car. i left a note. i apologized to the oern. everything is okay. >> nothing beats on-the-job training even if it's on the simulator. >> for the guys that hasn't had to do it in the last three years, that simulator helps. video that just makes you cringe. sheets of ice falling from

apartment buildings, one jaguar

thanks to the warmer temperatures this afternoon, this won't likely be a major problem here in our area, but in dallas now that they're warming up after an ice storm, there are concerns about falling ice. reporter katherine ross shows us some of the dangers.

>> reporter: in downtown dallas they're watching their steps, but more importantly the sky. >> just huge slabs just falling on cars, falling on the streets, almost falling on me. >> i saw a big chunk of ice fall off a roof. >> reporter: but the scene in plano is a real meltdown. falling ice, thawing and crashing, not something this man expected when he got his jaguar struck on this plano street north of the shops of legacy. >> i love this car, this is my baby. from what i personally think, it's totaled. >> a total loss, expensive lesson learned. with a week of thaw and freeze ahead, likely not the last time a north texan will come home to ice and glass. >> we need to make sure people know that this could happen if you're parked under a roof or standing under a roof that's slanted, it's best that you move -- >> luckily we weren't in the car and nobody really got hurt in the process other than my

feelings. the winter storm comes and goes, shoveling and plowing is maybe done for now, but the threat on our roads is not over. in the last hour news 4 first reported new developments about the coaching continue very see. find out what we dug up about the possible motivation that could push the coach to walk. first at 5:00, what is left of that fast-moving winter storm is now melting. >> that means the next round is with black ice. >> storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer is here to explain. >> we saw a lot of snow coming down from the sky. even if you didn't see it sticking on the roads, like in the d.c. metro area, it's still going to cause problems tonight. take a look at what we've seen across the region today. early this morning, 5:00, 6:00, here comes the snow.